Truly Alive
by To Define Life
Summary: I suck at summaries, and I know the first chapter kinda blows, but PLEASE read on! This is my first work, so critics are very helpful. Meet Dean, a post zombie apocalypse survivor who and discovers a way out through scientific means, but into Equestria! Will he fit in? Will his new home be disrupted by old enemies? Do zombies eat brains? Only one way to find out.
1. Chapter 1, Prolouge

**Prolouge, Part 1**

_Date: Don't know, don't care_

_Location: Middle of nowhere_

My name is Dean Styner. Don't ask me how old I am, as I'm not sure for myself. I'm just a guy growing up in a post-apocalyptic world. Before I can tell you what happened need to tell you a something first. I don't know how, I don't know why, but I've always had this ability to download information directly from the source, whether it be a computer, to just a hard drive, to an entire mainframe. If you're wondering how I can hold on to all this, you're gonna find out in just a moment.

First of the apocalypse kind of sucks. Majorly. It started with the formation of AFOGG, or Americans For Our Greater Good. It was in organization created by the President of the time ( don't ask me who it was, I forget). The president gathered each of our greatest scientists, biologists, and weapons specialists in the same place to help make our country better and safer. Now we didn't realize it at the time, but, this was the beginning of the end. AFOGG turned out not to be concerned about the country, only on profits. So one day, to facilities were testing out new projects: one was a weaponized synthetic virus, the other a newly-designed explosive. The explosive had been improperly timed and it went off early, blasting a gigantic hole in the facility. The newly made virus escaped, and spread quite rapidly. Most people became infected. Others, like me, were immune to the special genes they had inserted. We were'nt out of the woods yet; its way to create it's own pathways in the brain to and from systems was a small inconveinence. In time, zombies was born. We no longer had an epidemic, we now have an apocalypse. So one day, maybe three years later after the dreaded 'spawn', I happened to stumble on this facility. I cleared out the remaining not-so dead people (not too hard with silenced eagles) and stumbled on something quite extraordinary. It was like nothing I've ever seen before. A blue... almost glowing cube, made of almost raw energy. I put my hand on a computer, and discovered that they had found it had the ability to hold almost limitless amount of data. They had not been able to crack it though, so it had nothing on it, like a blank piece of paper. I picked it up and felt the connection immediately. I found I was able to put all of my memories, like a backup, on to the cube. I was even able to put stuff that I didn't need right away, but might need to use later, such as maps, articles, and gun manuals. This all fits quite sparingly inside the cube, sea I had by then named the HoloCube, for it's ability to holographically project data into the air and for it's shape.

Well, as they say, the past is past and the future is full of opportunities. Sometimes you never know what may happen or when. You just have to be prepared for when it does.


	2. Chapter 2, Arrival

Date: 2 months later

Location: South Florida

So now I'm just looking. Looking for my next meal, looking for a place to sleep, that sort of thing. I finally found myself today in somewhere that looks like North Miami. When I arrived, I had a bit of trouble with the 'locals', but nothing too serious. Eventually I found myself boarding up one place and crashing down on a couch, just plain old exhausted.

I checked my Pac, and found some protein bars. I ate them, hating the flavor, but knowing it was good for me. I nearly choked on the last bite as I looked over.

I saw on the couch next to me, a man who had blown his brains out.

It had been a few days, but the smell was sickening. I'm just glad I kept down my bars, they're pretty hard to come by. I swallowed and looked again. He had done a pretty good job, since he wasn't getting back up. I looked over at his desk top and saw he had a computer.

"Lucky me" I mumbled, "More useless information."

I walked over and touched my fingertips against it, doing something I like to call a scan. I don't download anything, I just look at it. I saw some really... different, things. this guy, was a retired a member of AFOGG, while it was still around. He had not only done work on the HoloCube, he had done some... other work as well. He focused his research on inter-dimensional travel. When I read this, my spirits went through the roof. " A way out..." I thought, daring not to speak as the undead might still be nearby. My mind all of the sudden started thinking about ways I could leave this place, and just go somewhere where life was more enjoyable, easier. But my excitement died when I read it needed a whole _**terrawatt**_ to work. But my brain overrode my mind and commanded me to grab the HoloCube, and search for a map of Northern Miami. When it pulled up a map, I had it point out the nearest, and largest, power plant. I was lucky I was close to one, as you see, we only had about 6 in the whole country, seeing how they produced over six billion gigawatts per_**second**_. I tried not to get my hopes to high, as in the end, it may not even work.

But I had to try.

I quickly put one hand over the USB drive, and my other on the HoloCube, and began the download process. It only takes a few minutes but in that time I am extremely vulnerable. I use all my energy transferring information from the computer to me, then exporting it to the HoloCube. It took longer than I expected, but eventually I end the download and remove my hand from the drive. I sat down, envisioning the design for the device to make the whole ordeal worthwhile. I look at it's complications and groan, "Back to the hardware store we go Styner.", something my dad used to say everyone I'd ask for materials to build something from the internet. Thinking about him made me more eager to go and leave this horrible place behind. I looked through my Pac, and did an ammo check. What I found disturbed me: I had a severe lackage of magazines, only seven 13 round clips and two grenades. I sighed, loaded my eagles, and head out into the stale air of undead Miami.

The hardware store proved profitable, giving me anything and everything I needed. After hitting the shop, I decided to check out the library, for a layout of the plant. I walked in and a dead person looked me straight in the face. I reacted by instinct, dropping low, swinging my right leg under the zombie, making it fall to the floor. I then sprang back up, unholstering my left desert eagle, putting it against his forehead, and pulling the trigger. Silenced weapons make no sound, you know, so it just looked like someone pulled the plug on life. I stepped over the re-deadified corpse and proceeded on my way to the main computer. I placed my hand on the drive scanned it, got the blueprint I wanted, and walked out the front door. I then proceeded to walk to a bike shop, hacked the electronic lock, and "borrowed" a bike. I then started to ride down to the power plant.

Date: Same day, mid-afternoon

Location: Southeastern Atlantic Power facility (SAP)

Once I arrived, I looked around for about an hour trying to find the front door. The place was MASSIVE. You could easily fit a few smaller mansions in it. This was, however, the sole energy provider for about 13 1/2 states (Tennessee was also part of the Northeastern Atlantic Power facility). The air was stale and frighteningly quiet, so I tried not to start anything I didn't have to. As I started through the building, I ran into a few pockets of trouble, and knowing I had low ammo, took a few out with my knife. I'd throw a rock over to another part of the room and take them out from behind. When a floor was clear, I'd keep moving up until I got to the 4th floor. The third floor surprised me, seeing how it was empty. As I finished off the last of the fourth floor, I crept over to the MCC (main cable controls) and got down to business. I took the parts out of my Pac, and started to assemble the device. When I was about half done, i took the liberty of installing about 14 bar and 7 chain locks on the stairway door, just in case. I then started on the machine. I retrieved some extremely advanced components from my Pac and began working. As i finished the last screws in the device, I began to hear pounding and groaning from praise the door.

Crap.

I quickly took a large cable from the box labeled 'main export cable' with my hands and jammed it into the side of the machine.

Nothing.

Assuming I must have forgotten to turn it on, I ran over to the MCC and flipped a large red switch. The facility hummed to life in an instant, turning a dark, gloomy plant into a bright, deadly one.

Still nothing from the machine.

A lock, the first of many, broke off of the door.

I heard their numbers, and started to realize survival might not be possible. I started to lose it. "This is it. The end. I'm done.". I cried for the first time in a while. Full of anger for how child-like I had been, for jumping at such an impossible opportunity. Blown with rage, I gave a swift kick to the machine.

Then it happened.

A swirl of color had suspended in the air. Not 2D nor 3D, something else entirely.

Two more locks broke off the door.

I grabbed my Pac and dove through the oval. Just as I stood back up, I heard the door bust open.

I pulled a grenade out of my Pac, pulled the pin, threw it through the color, and ducked behind the nearest object: a large boulder. I heard the explosion with a loud BOOM followed by a fizzle. When I looked up, the portal was gone. Destroyed with the grenade was the machine as well. According to plan, of course. Couldn't have dead people going back and forth as they pleased.

I relaxed against the rock, and closed my eyes. I have never felt more exhausted or secure in my LIFE. I must have fallen asleep because when I woke up it was dark. This wasn't a problem though, as staying in the shadows meant staying alive. I sprung up from my nap, and became instantly aware of my surroundings. I was on the edge of a clearing in a massive forest. Now normally, I'd remember a map, find my location, and walk out of here. Piece of cake. Then I remembered that this wasn't home, I didn't have a map. I sat down and decided that I'd climb a tree in the morning and make for the best possible location. Tonight, however, I made shelter in a nearby cave. I say down and considered my options. While thinking, I threw a rock into a strange, mirror-like pool. The rock went in, no splash whatsoever. Then two rocks popped out, almost hitting me in the forehead. Out of sure luck they missed me. I was too stunned to move.

"What the hell is this?"

I figured it was just a coincidence, but I wanted to test this theory. I threw another rock in, and just like before, two jumped out. I'm glad I did so, because I was throwing good and mags in there till I couldn't throw any more. Realizing the security I had, I stored all my firearms and ammunition in a hole in the cave wall. I took out a piece of paper and taped 'IN CASE OF EMERGENCY' over the hole. I then gathered some leaves from outside put my head down on some nearby leaves, and drifted off into at cold sleep.

_**Hey guys! To Define Life here. I needed to publish the first chapter more as motivation to begin this story, but I hope it helped let this story make can expect at least one new chapter a week, but I have school and no laptop so sorry for any delays. I'm trying! Please like and follow, and post questions and comments through the speech bubble below. Thanks!**_


	3. Chapter 3, A New Home

During my sleep, had an incredible dream.

I dreamed about if I was some_thing_. I drempt that I had no longer my human body, but was something far better. In my dream I felt like I have the strange ability to fly, not like I had superpowers, but like I could actually fly on my own. I woke up slowly, yawning and stretching as I did so. I pulled my Pac over and tried to open it.

I couldn't.

I jumped back in surprise, revealing to me that my feet were gone, replaced by flat dark-blue circles. My hands had the same problem, no more fingers. I really started to flip out.

"Wha... why...?" were the only words I could spew. I tried to wake myself up, this had to be a dream right? I shut my eyes tight, and hit myself in the head.

I opened my eyes again to find myself several feet off the ground. I was flying! As i became aware, my wings went lifeless. I nearly screamed as I started falling. Actually, I did scream. I hit the ground hard and dashed to the mirror/duplicator pond.

My whole body structure changed. I had 4 legs, a tail, a weird hairdo, and... wings? This was the most absurd thing I noticed, seeing as humans don't have wings, because we're mammals. So how was I a colorful pony and have wings? I didn't understand, nor did I want to. I wanted to join a new world's society, and apparently I was going to fit in.

Just as I started to truly comprehend the madness of it all, I saw someone was watching me through the cave door. A small purple pony with a horn jutting out from her blonde mane was looking at me intently. I jumped back letting out a yelp of surprise. She looked at me for a while and finally spoke in a shy voice, "Hi… my name's Dinky, what's yours?".

I was unsure what to say. THIS WAS A PONY. HOW IN THE NAME OF GOD WAS IT TALKING?! Figuring that wouldn't be the best thing to say, I looked backwards and saw I had a USB icon on my rear-end. Thinking fast i blurted "FLASH DRIVE!".

I looked towards the now frightened pony, who i noticed had a horn jutting out of her head, thinking about what I had said. "Sorry I startled you, my name is Flash Drive."

She loosened up a bit, and said "Oh, that's an interesting name. Why are you here alone? Mom says being alone makes you sad. Why are you in a cave?"

The questions came so fast, I was once again speechless. I thought for a moment. I figured my story would be better off as a secret, so I told her a _part_ of the truth, "I don't have home..." I said. "This place seems to work out though. Why do you ask?"

She immediately became shy again, and spoke softly. "Well, it's not often that we meet somepony new... and when you do, they're usually not the nicest ponies..." Her voice trailed off as a she was lost in thought, then replaced with a huge grin on her face.

"I know!" She said, losing her shyness, "You should live with us! Our place is much nicer than... this." She waved to the general area with her hoof. "Will you? Pleeeeaaaaase? Mom has been kinda lonely lately, and I think somepony like you around the house could help her out a lot."

She paused when she saw how stunned I was by the sudden offer. She must have known I was having doubts, because she made a sad face and said "Pleeeeaaaase?" I sighed. How was I to ignore a small, i guess unicorn?, like this?

"Alright, ill come along." I finally answered.

Her smile grew to new lengths as she started bouncing around going "YAY!". Her horn began to glow and small rocks began to float around the room. I stood (on all fours now) and looked at the wonder.

The glowing stopped and the rocks fell. Dinky was full of excitement. "Come on! What are we waiting for, let's go!".

I replied with a simple "Ok", and I left the my stash of weapons safe, where no-, i guess pony now?, could find them. Ever. I swing my Pac over one hoof and with difficulty put the other one through the strap, and head out into the forest once again. Dinky said her house was only about a 30 minute walk away, and in a direction I hadn't even considered going towards. As we came close, I looked at the home.

It had that home-y look and feel; a large wooden home with an active chimney.

Dinky asked if I wanted to go inside first, just to take a look around. I reluctantly declined her offer and she happily skipped inside, humming a strange tune. She opened the door and said quickly "Mom guess who I found!" A taller grey pony with blonde hair and wings walked out beside Dinky.

"All right mom, open your eyes..." Dinky told her. She opened her eyes and looked at me. Already looking at her, the first thing that struck me was her eyes. They were a little cross, but beautiful to look at. I wouldn't say cross eyed, now that I think about it, more wall eyed. I thought it best not to dwell on that factor. I also decided to break the awkward silence.

"Uh, Hi. I'm flash drive and I'm, uh, apparently new in town."

"_Great job brain, just great." _I thought. She looked at me with a questioning look, and finally spoke, "Flash Drive, that is a cool name. I'm Derpy Hooves, but everypony just calls me Derpy."

"Sounds good Derpy." I replied. "As I said, my name is Flash Drive, but you can just call me Drive."

"_Smooth Dean, great job. That's twice you've looked like an ass." "SHUT UP BRAIN!"_ I ignored my argument with myself as Dinky began her shpeal.

"Mom! You see, I was walking around in the everfree forest, and..."

Derpy interrupted her with a "What?! You went into the everfree forest?! Alone! We'll talk about this later."

Her daughter looked down and continued less enthusiastically, "So, while I was there I went exploring and found that cave pinkie found a while back. Anyway, I went inside and there was this pony, just really freaked out." She turned to me. "You never told me. What were you freaked about?"

It was difficult to explain, and I needed that explanation to be good, so I procrastinated.

"I'll tell you in a bit so we don't get off topic." she looked confused, but went on "Anyway, he was just flipping. So I introduced myself. He did the same, and he told me he didn't have a home so I asked if he could live with us. Pleeaase mom pleeeeaaaaase?"

I looked at the surprise on Derpy's face. I seeing this, I said "Oh, you don't have to let me stay Ms. Hooves, I'm sure I can find somewhere else to stay." She cocked her head slightly and doing so caused her eyes to return to normal state, then said "Nonsense! Two things: One, look no further! Well b happy to have you stay! And two..." She looked at me, blushing a little, "No pony has ever called me Ms. Hooves before." I looked at the ground, scratching the ground with my hoof, "Sorry Derpy, won't happen again.". She giggled, putting her her mouth to muffle it. Derpy cleared get throat, smiled, and said, "No it's quite alright. Actually, I like it." She paused, then said "What are you waiting for? Come inside! You must be STARVING!"

I looked around, took a breath, and realized just how worth it this all had been.

I stepped inside.

_**To my readers- wassup? I was busy uploading the 2nd chapter and I thought, "You know, what the hell." And i posted the third chapter as well. Any questions or comments, feel free to send them to me.**_**_ See you next chapter!  
_**


	4. Chapter 4, Enter Equestria

I walked inside and took a look around.

It was a beautiful place to call home.

There were pictures everywhere, a nice fireplace, and a few beds. It was a small from the outside, so I was kind of supprised when I saw how roomy it was.

Derpy opened up a fridge in a corner of the house and pulled out a huge tray of muffins.

Dinky bouncing around, going "Can I have one? Can I have one? Can I have one?". Derpy sighed and handed Dinky a muffin. She made it levitate as her horn began to glow again, and hopped out of the kitchen, muffin floating just behind her.

I looked towards Derpy again just in time to duck as she almost shoved a muffin in my mouth.

She remarked, "Wow. I usually catch them off guard. Guess your somethin' else huh?" she said a wink. She took a massive bite out of the muffin in her hoof. She then handed me another muffin, quite not so much force behind it thankfully. I hesitated and took a bite.

"My. God." I said through a mouthful of food. "This is, AMAZING! What's in it?" She thought, then said "Grains, milk, eggs, and apples fresh from sweet apple acres." I was blown away. Speechless. All I could do was chew slowly and enjoy the flavor.

All of a sudden, Dinky ran in and asked "Mom, can I use the computer?". As beautiful as it was, I nearly spat out my muffin. _'They have computers?' _ I was overjoyed! I could figure out where I was and what exactly was going on here! Finishing the last bits of muffin in my mouth, I asked, "Could I use your computer for, maybe 5 minutes? I know you don't know me that well just yet, but could you?". Derpy looked up from her food in her hoof (or what was left of it) and replied "Sure, I don't see why not."

Dinky led me to the computer and offered me a seat. I declined, "I do this better standing up.", I said.

I left the HoloCube in my Pac, not wanting to reveal it just yet, and put a solid hoof on it. I then started to transfer all the Earthy information to the cube, and began, simultaneously, a complete download of the internet.

I started with the basics: The land was called Equestria and was ruled by Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. When there was trouble, six ponies joined together through something called the elements of harmony. As cool as this was, I felt the need to go deeper. I kept digging through files. Thousands and thousands of files. I got so far as to more classified data such as basic nuclear energy and high powered weapons.

When I finished, I felt the HoloCube's glow and my mane was drenched with sweat. Derpy and Dinky were staring at me, wide eyed. Apparently each and every document I downloaded had flashed on the screen at some 350 pages per second. Dinky finally said something, "What was that?". I didn't know how to respond. Here I was trying to lay low, and I just blew it. So my brain worked overtime and said, "Hey Derpy, can I talk to you for just a second? Alone?" She looked at me, and I saw the confusion. Here I was, a new house guest doing freaky things to the family computer.

Derpy must have realized what I was getting at, so she turned to her daughter and said "Dinky, could you be amazing and go to Sugarcube Corner to get some blueberry muffins?".

Dinky, being young and innocent, replied "Sure! Be right back!".

Derpy waited a good five minutes before saying "So what they hay was that?".

Having had a moment to think, I said "Derpy, before i can tell you, i need to know something: Can you keep a secret? A huge secret?"

She nodded but her face was still in total confusion. "Okay, here goes nothing." I breathed. "I'm not, well, from _around _here. I'm from... elsewhere. Never mind that. Any way, about what happened, I have this weird... ability, I guess you could call it. I talk with computers, basically." Derpy shook her head. "Wait, so you can just tell a computer or ask it ask it something?" I looked at her and said, "Sorry, I know it sounds insane but I really need you to-".

She cut me off with a, "What are you talking about? It's AWESOME! Why can't you tell anypony though?". I answered her with silence, and she replied "No, you don't have to tell me Drive, I was just being curious.".

" Thanks for understanding, not many peop- er, ponies would."

She smiled, then walked trotted back into the living room. Derpy then,called out "Well you gotta sleep somewhere, let's find someplace for ya."

I walked over and saw that Derpy had already pulled out a small mattress, maybe 4ft by 1ft.

Derpy looked up at me and said, "Well, I know it's not much, but it's something."

"Thanks..." I finally replied, "For all you've done."

She grinned and said 'No problem. Hey, maybe I can take you to Ponyville tomorrow, how does that sound?"

The sheer thought of hearing about others made me worried, and excited at they same time. "Sounds good to me." I said. "I can hardly wait."

I went into a self preservation mode instinctively and suddenly and his myself away from a sudden noise. I arched my back against the wall, almost ready to pounce before I heard "Mom! I'm hoooome!"

It was Ditzy.

Luckily, Derpy hadn't noticed the whole ordeal. Her eyes closed and her nostrils enjoying the scent of freshly baked muffins. I closed my eyes as well and began to wander aimlessly toward the smell. My eyes being closed, I tripped on a few things, hearing Ditzy and Derpy muffle giggles as I did so. When I finally opened my eyes, I saw the two of them walking backwards slowly, the muffin bag still in Ditzy mouth. When I became aware, they bust out on the floor laughing their guts out. After overviewing the situation, I started laughing too.

After a while of fooling around and eating this beautiful food, Derpy looked outside. With the sun beginning to set, said "Well, best be getting to bed, g'night Drive.".

I yawned, not truly grasping how tired I was. "Sounds like a plan. G'night Derpy. G'night Ditzy."

We all went our separate ways and the two of them,almost immediately passed out. I for one, however, was not so lucky. I kept thinking about what used to be home. I shook my head at the thought and drifted off.

I had a dream again.

This time, I was back with my family. Mom, dad, sister, and two brothers. They were all there. We were all sitting at this big, circular wooden table. No one was talking. No one was eating. We were all just looking at the big pile of food in front of me. No one else had so much as a fork, so I asked "What's with the food? You guys must be starving, take some!" They looked at me with no expression whatsoever. No happiness, no sadness, no pain, no fear, no ANYTHING. Then my mom spoke, "Dean, you've been given an amazing opportunity. Don't waste it." I was kept saying "Come! There is still time! Come on!" but to no avail, the horrid image replaced the wish.

I thought I deleted the file.

The image of my family on the ground. Dead. Half- eaten.

I had to follow procedure.

A bullet through the brain.

Each.

I woke up sobbing, just thinking.

_15 minutes, just 15 minutes earlier could have saved them._ But then, I thought: _I did what I could; I followed protocol._

After that I was restless, so I went outside and sat on the porch. Finally, the sun came up to a strong and willing new member of it's society.

His name: Dean Styner

His home: not important.

His talents: stealth, computers, assassination, weapons knowledge, and downloadability.

His goal: a new start.

He was the old, is the present, and will be his future.

His new name: Flash Drive.

_**Hey guys! Websters definition of life here! I appreciate the criticism, and hope you pon-, er, people enjoy the story. The story is finally out if the beginning stages! ONTO... THE MAIN POINTS WHERE IMPORTANT STUFF HAPPENS! Do I sense a plot twist? Probably not, but it'll be good. Thanks for staying tuned, and LEAVE THOSE REVIEWS! Oh yeah, if you like the story, please follow me and the story! Thanks! **_

_**To Define Life out.**_

_**PS- Most of the typing and write up is done from my phone, with final touches finished with my Mac because it's slow, so please try to overlook any errors i may have forgotten to fix!**_


	5. Chapter 5, Ponyville and Parties

I was still sitting on the porch when Derpy nudged me from behind. I didn't expect it, but i was at a level of calm where it didn't even matter. She kinda looked at me, then she quickly looked away and said "Good morning! You _are_ an early riser aren't you, huh. Come inside and have some breakfast."

I got up slowly, then wearily trudged inside. I yawned, then felt my energy return to me. I asked Derpy, "So, you might have mentioned something about a place called Ponyville yesterday, what exactly is so special about it?". Without even turning her head, she said "Oh, nothing in particular is special, it's just a cool place to be, you know? Just spend the day there, talk to ponies, buy some food or clothes-" she stopped and turned as the small pink unicorn entered the room. "Well good morning sweetheart, how are you?"

Dinky yawned, and said, "Really great mom! I think that's the best night's sleep i've had in a while!" Derpy smiled. "That's great. Would you like some Hay-O's?" Dinky got really excited and said "Oo! Oo! Yes please!" Dinky then levitated the cereal box and poured it into two wooden bowls. She turned to me, then said "Whoops, sorry bout' that Flash.", then poured another bowl.

We sat down to eat, and as I began to reach for a spoon, I saw how both Dinky and Derpy leaned their heads back and threw themselves face-first into the bowl of cereal. The milk went everywhere, and they began slurping noisily. After about maybe 10 seconds, they both came out of their dunking state and gasped for breath, then started laughing. I realized then, they were both waiting for me. So abandoning my ego, I shoved my face in the bowl and tried to eat what wasn't thrown out by the splash. I'm going to guess that some 20 seconds went by before I came out, my lungs begging for oxygen. They stared at me once again, trying to figure out how I had pulled off some other un-ponylike feat. To fill the silence, I said "Well hey, it's pretty good." With that, we all bust out laughing.

Dinky said goodbye to her mother, put on a strap with two parts on either end, and walked out the front door. When I turned to ask Derpy where she had gone, she looked at me unbelievingly and asked "You never heard of little fillies and colts going to school?" She then looked at her and said "I really hope her saddlebag isn't too much for her…"

'_Ahh, so that's what it was called, the thing on her back.'_

Derpy looked really excited. "What are you waiting for? We haven't got all day silly." I snapped out of my thoughts, and went "Alrighty then, let's go!" We headed out the door.

As we started walking, Derpy hit herself out of nowhere and exclaimed "Duh! Why didn't we do this earlier! We can just fly there!". I cocked my head at her.

'_Fly? Oh yeah, __**wings**_ _dipstick. You have wings.'_

Not really thinking, I replied "Well, you see, I never really learned how…".

Now Derpy was really curious. "What do you mean you've never flown? You've spent your WHOLE life as a pegasus and have never even TRIED?" she asked disbelievingly. I shook my head, realizing that I had, once again, failed to lay low.

"Well, it's pretty simple. First you just feel the muscles in your wings, try to move them a bit.". I felt my back move in a queer way, a way I had never felt before. I tried to flap them a little, but I wasn't sure exaclty what was a bit. I went up like a rocket a few hundred feet in the air.

'_Oh yeah, friendly reminder: YOU'RE TERRIFIED OF HEIGHTS. '_

'_Shut up brain, just shut up.'_

I started falling, and fast. I opened my wings again, slowly this time, and flapped the bare minimum I thought I could go. Slowly, but surely, I started to slow my descent and glide down to the ground. When I touched down, Derpy was blinking rapidly, her eyes going all wild. She then cleared her throat and said, "Well, that's... unusual.". She continued "Alright, you need a walkthrough, come here." I walked over and sat down. She walked behind me and massaged my wings, blushing slightly as she did so. I don't know how she does it, but it was just like everything relaxing creating a soothing feeling nothing could beat. "There" she said after a while, "Try that again.". I flapped my wings very, very gently and felt myself begin to hover about a foot over the ground. She smiled, and said "Not bad, that a pretty good start. Let's see if you can do this!". She turned and took off. Not wanting to lose my guide, I dashed after her, feeling the pure power my wings carried.

Fear = Conquered

Flying = Off the bucket list.

We flew around towards a small group of buildings, which I assumed was Ponyville. We touched down, and Derpy began showing me around. We stopped a variety of markets and carts, of which Derpy bought some groceries. She then introduced me to each and everypony on the street. I remember a few: Lyra, Vinyl, Octavia, and Carrot Top.

Then Derpy thought I should meet some of her good friends. We stopped off at Sugarcube Corner first. Derpy and I walked in, and we were greeted immediately by a bouncing pink pony.

"Hey Derpy how are you? How's Dinky?" the pink ponies stopped her onslaught of talk to breathe then gasped quite dramatically with "Oh hi! YOU'RE who Dinky was talking about yesterday! Flash Drive, right? I'm Pinkie Pie. My friends call me Pinky though. Omygosh are you new?! Nopony's been new in AGES! You know what you need? A PARTY! Be at the library at 8, don't be late!"

We walked out and I blinked, trying to comprehend what the hell just happened. Derpy looked at me knowingly "She's a handful isn't she? Pinkie... anyway, let's check out the library she was talking about." We passed a few more stands and arrived at a huge treehouse. The place was massive, must have been three stories tall, a window at the second floor led my eyes back to the bottom and showed me a door. I went to knock, but Derpy just barged right on in. "Hello? Twilight, you there?" she called.

A small green, I guess dragon?, started down the stairs. He yawned and said in annoyed voice "Sorry Derpy, you're gonna have to wait, she's REALLY strung out about her studies. _AGAIN._" He fixed his gaze on me, and I looked right back at him. He seemed a little dazed in general, so I ignored it and went on. "Hi, I'm Flash Drive, you?". He paused and said much more cheerfully than before, "I'm Spike, Twilight's #1 assistant!". He seemed proud about it, so I didn't push further into the subject, I continued "Sorry to interrupt, but I was hoping to at least say hello. You see, I'm new in town.". Spike looked up, he seemed almost excited. "Whew! FINALLY something to break her out of her studies! I'll be right back." He ran back up the stairs and you heard a door slam.

Derpy was looking down when I glanced over, and she muttered "What, having me come over wasn't enough?". I have her a questioning look and asked "Is she really that serious on studying? What does she study anyway?". She glanced elsewhere and replied "Anything and everything she can get her hoofs on. And she can get her hoofs on a LOT of subjects." Just as Derpy finished, Twilight began to slowly walk down the stairs, spike leading her. "Alright, don't open your eyes just yet, almost there..." As spike said this I saw she had her eyes shut tight. Spike led her in front of Derpy and I and said "Alright Twi, go for it!". The purple pony's eyes blinked open as she looked at Derpy, then Spike, then back to Derpy. "Really Spike?! You interior my studies on producers to tell me Derpy showed up?!" she exclaimed. Derpy looked a little hurt, but said nothing. Spike must have delt with this a lot, because he answered calmly, "Not exactly, take a look to her left." Twilight looked over at me, so I snapped back together and said "Hi, the name's Flash Drive, you're Twilight I take it?" She blinked, wondering what to say.

'_Wow, I guess it really __**IS **__rare to have a new pony in town...'_

She finally responded "That's me. I don't think i've seen you around, you're new?" I chuckled. "Wow, I guess it _is_ that obvious huh.". Derpy interjected with "Well, there's a lot to see. Thanks Twilight! See you tonight!" She seemed confused "Tonight? What's going on tonig-" Derpy slammed the door, cutting her off. We then heard the pony's sudden rage from point-blank through the door "PINKIE PIE! WHY DO ALL THE PARTIES YOU HAVE NEED TO BE WHERE I BUCKING SLEEP!" Derpy tried to distract me from the outburst, "Two down, four to go, you ready?" I replied, "As much as I'll ever be.".

Next stop was to meet a timid pony who found her place among the animals, or that's how Derpy presented it. Derpy and I walked up to her and she said in a very small voice "Oh, hi Derpy, how are you? Who's your friend?" I had Derpy respond, she had saying it would be better that way in advance, "I'm alright. Dinky's off to class. This is our new house guest. His name is Flash Drive." I stepped forward and trying to remove whatever edge of my voice i could, said "Hi, Flash is the name, how do you do?". "Fine, thank you. I'm Fluttershy. Umm, Flash Drive, like the one's in those computers?". I replied with a "Yeah, those are the ones…". Derpy looked at the yellow pony and said kinda regretfully "Sorry to cut it short, but we gotta run. See you later!" Fluttershy said "Oh, all right. See you later…" When we got out of earshot, Derpy breathed a sigh of relief. "Whew! Sorry about that, she can be a little boring at first, but fun if you get to know her.

I looked up in the sky. It was clear, and Derpy's stomach started to growl. "Wow. I am STARVED. You hungry?" Hearing my own stomach growl was all the assurance I needed.

"Same here." We headed down to a small diner and walked inside. Like most places here, it was bigger on the inside and colored a bright orange. A waitress skipped over and handed, or should I say- hoofed us some menus. I looked it over from top to bottom twice, and couldn't find _anything _meaty!

_'I guess vegetarians are the norm, huh'_

With Derpy's help in choosing, two Celestia salads were on their way. When they arrived, I watched Derpy to see how she ate in public. She ate like I would have regularly when I was a human: stab some greens with a fork and eat. After a nice, quiet lunch, we left and set off for a nearby farm. On the fly there I thought it best to ask Derpy a few questions I had. "Hey, Derpy?" She looked over her shoulder and replied "What?". I said, "There's no easy way to ask this, so I'm just going to go ahead. Why do these ponies all seem somewhat alike? Your friends I mean." Effortlessly, she flew ahead and turned around to face me, still flying straight as she did so. "Well, I guess not much... other than the fact that they all have pieces of the elements of harmony." I thought it best to stop her there. I knew who these ponies were and what they represented, I just had to make my initial clueless-ness not so awkward by asking questions. She continued with "Well, we should be almost there..."

I didn't hear the end of what she said. Just then, she crashed into a huge wooden barn. Pieces of wood flew everywhere, so I folded up my wings and dropped out of the sky like a rock. I broke my fall with an,awkward somersault, kicked open the door, and sprinted to Derpy's aid. When I found her, she was in a haystack. "Derpy, are you okay?!" She groaned, then said "I'm alright, my back hurts like crazy though..." She looked at me in the eyes, well, as close as she could get, and said "Thanks for asking. Aghh. I just don't know what went WRONG." Derpy barely finished her sentence when an angry pony from in the field screamed "DERPY! You tell me... YOU TELL ME! THA' YOU DIDN' JUST BUS' ON THROUGH MY BARN AGAIN!" I looked to Derpy and said "Well, your the expert... do we wait for the anger or should we break?" Derpy replied quickly with "Go. Go go go gogogogo!" I wasted no time in taking off like a rocket again and flying away ASAP.

When we were a good distance away, she said "Well, now you can say you've met Applejack." switching subjects, she continued "Pick a hoof." She stuck out both hoofs and I tapped the left one. She pulled them both back and said "Alrighty then. Rarity, then Dash." We took a left turn and headed toward the seamstress' boutique. We landed by the doorstep and Derpy knocked twice.

"Hello? Rarity, you there?" Derpy called. A high class voice returned with a groan, "Derpy! What could you POSSIBLY want?! I am very busy working for a client, so of you excuse me, I-" "THIS ISN'T ABOUT MUFFINS I PROMISE!" Derpy interrupted. The door swung open. "Oh really then, what is it?" The curly haired mare stepped out and looked at me. A little baffled, she spoke in bursts "Well... I'm sorry... I thought... I'm Rarity." Derpy spoke for me "Told you it wasn't muffins. Rarity, Flash Drive. Flash Drive, Rarity" Rarity seemed to understand and said "Oh, so that's what the party is for, seeing as pinkie never takes the time to specify..." The white pony turned to me and said "Well hello, sorry I can't chat, but I have so much work to do! See you at... 8!" She took out a phone to check, then walked back inside. Derpy started back towards the main road, and I ran up alongside her and she said "It's a bit of a ways, but we can see Dash and back at about 7. You ready?" "as much as I'll ever be" all right then, let's go!"

We took off once again and flew almost straight up. We began heading to a dense group of clouds and as we got closer, it looked more and more like a city. Derpy pointed ahead and said "Welcome to cloudsdale, home of most pegasi." I couldn't respond, I was too astonished at how huge the city was and of it's ability to just float like it did. As we arrived, I spotted a blue pony flying from cloud to cloud at almost unbelievable speeds, destroying each cloud as she did so. Derpy called out "Dash! Hey! Hey Dash! Rainbow Dash over here!" Derpy started waving her hoof in the air. The pegasi must have heard her because she dashed behind a cloud fast. Derpy looked around, and called out "Rainbow dash? Where'd you go?" Remembering Derpy is cross-eyed, I recalled witch cloud dash had hid behind and flew over. I rested on the other side of the cloud and made my way around. When I saw the pony, I found it was hard to miss where 'rainbow' in her name came from. I started "Hi, youre rainbow dash right?" Instead of an answer, I received a punch headed my way. While still in the air I moved left to dodge it and blocked her next one with the flat of my hoof. Rainbow Dash strained against the resistance "So… nghh… you're obviously not Derpy…" Derpy popped out from over the cloud and said "No, I'm right here!"

I threw her failed punch to the ground and flew a foot backwards. I continued "No, I'm not. I'm Flash Drive and I'm new to the area." Dash replied "Well for somepony new you box like a pro, where did you learn that?" I thought, and gave her somewhat truth "All self taught, no teacher." It was partially true. I learned it from the streets, and I was pretty certain that would be bad to say here. "Well yo Flash I'm Rainbow Dash. Listen, I've gotta go finish this before the party tonight. See you there!" The blue pony took off to a patch of clouds in the distance, so Derpy and I started home. On the way back i decided to do an experiment, just to see what would happen. While just cruising I folded my wings and dropped out of the sky. Derpy freaked out "Flash! Open your wings!" Every bone in my body told me to do so, but this was an experiment. After falling about half a mile, and about 100 feet off the ground I thrust out my wings and started to slow my descent. I hit the ground hard and rolled, but I was OK. Derpy flew over in seconds and said "Ohmygodareyouokaywhydidyoufallwhydidntyouopenyour wingslikeI, 'gasp', toldyou?!" "Sorry," I replied "I was curious to see what would happen." Derpy was astonished. Her eyes narrowed in and she said "Never, NEVER do that again." She sniffed, then said "I thought you were going to die…" She looked around confused, then face-hoofed "I need to pick up DINKY that's what I forgot!" she acted pretty nervous, then asked me "Hey Drive? I was wondering if you could pick up Dinky if it's not too much trouble." I stared at her in disbelief. This was her CHILD she was asking me, some pony she doesn't truly know, to go and get. What else could I say? "Sure, where is she?" Derpy replied "That's the point. After school if i'm not there right then she'll go home with Applebloom." I was a little frustrated "So I need to go BACK to where we almost got our behinds served to us? Alright, I'll see you in a half hour." Derpy was estatic, "Thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you! Remember how to get there?" She pointed a hoof and I started on my way.

I could see why Derpy wanted me to do this:

#1- it was applejack's barn we freaking demolished

#2-Dinky could come home herself, but it was getting dark fast

In about five minutes, I touched down and walked past the destroyed barn and to the front steps. I knocked and Applejack came to the door. "Hi, Derpy sent me to pick up Dinky?" I said, uncertain of her reaction. She got all tense, then said "You mean you a friend of that… that… anyway's how do I know you aint just a… a… ponynapper, or somtin like that?" Dinky poked her head out and saw the commotion. She spoke up "Hi Flash! You here to pick me up? Probably, mom's getting ready for the party."

'_How does everyone know already? Word travels faster than I thought...'_

Applejack looked back at Dinky "So this is who you were, ehem, _**entertaining**_, our dinner with tonight." She choked out. "Well, so you're this mysterious Flash Drive then, sorry i was so curt."

"No problem, really. I would have done the same." I replied, still a little awkward about the barn situation. "Well, thanks a bunch, but we need to get going. See you later?" Applejack was confused, then said "Ahh, I remember now, tha' party's tonight. Well, see yall soon!" She shut the door, and Dinky and I began the walk home. After about five minutes, I asked out of pure curiosity "Umm, Dinky? Do you think you can use your horn to light everything up? It is a little dark." Without responding verbally, she started levitating a pebble and a small area of the forest lit up. "Thanks, much better." I said.

We arrived to 'Home sweet home' and Derpy gave Dinky a hug and me a huge thank you. Derpy walked out of the room with Dinky. She came back a bit later and said "Just tucking her in, you ready?" "I'm good, let's roll!" We set off out into the night. We flew fast, knowing we were somewhat behind. In-flight, Derpy took out a phone and checked it "Crap, we have 2 minutes." she yelled over the wind. "Well, let's see if we can't pick up the pace then!" I yelled back. We landed by the library steps with 30 seconds to spare. We walked in and were greeted by tons of ponies. Pinkie was the first one to run up and say "Oh my gosh! I'm so happy you're here! Aren't you happy you're here too! This is gonna be awesome!" Pinkie looked over her shoulder, "Ooo! Vinyl's here! Hey everypony! The music just arrived!" I looked to Derpy, "So, parties are this crazy always? or is this-" Derpy interrupted, "Oh NO. Ha! The party hasn't even STARTED YET!" I walked over to the main table and poured myself a glass of the fruit punch. I looked at all the ponies, some standing around talking and others dancing. I found Derpy again by her friends. Without walking over, I canceled out the other noise in my head and focused on their conversation. Twilight was talking "Okay, Princess Celestia's birthday is tomorrow, and she's coming to Ponyville like usual. Pinkie, you're on party supplies and banners. Applejack, you're on drinks. Fluttering and Rainbow Dash, I need you two on weather, I don't want a cloud in the sky. Rarity, you have that present ready?" The white pony nodded, and the unicorn continued "Great. Derpy, you can make all the muffins anyone will ever eat right?" Derpy said "Sure, they'll be ready in the morning." Twilight replied "Awesome, and-" I cut her off "Sorry to interrupt, but I need to know if the princess has an interest in technology." They all stared at me baffled. Rainbow Dash spoke up "You mean does she like computers? Yeah! Who doesn't?" I looked down, I was afraid of a blowing answer like this. Fluttershy added "Well, I guess if you had something to give her, you could. She's very into new ponies and what they have. I mean... you don't really have to... it was just an idea."

It was nice to get a full response.

_'Nice. You're getting there.'_

"I will thank you. Just a question, sorry about that." Derpy said "No problem! I ask questions all the time." Twilight turned toward me "Hmm. You seem to know what you're doing, go for it. Actually could you do that and help Derpy with the muffins?" She leaned closer and whispered "Just make sure she doesn't eat them all... she'll do that just so you know."

I muffled a chuckle and whispered back "Gotcha. Not happening on my watch."

The group broke up and we enjoyed the rest of the party. It wrapped up around 10, so Derpy and I started home. On the fly back, Derpy asked "As you were saying earlier, you wanted to give the princess something. What exactly?" I sighed and said "Well, it's not ready yet. On the flip side I have a question for you. Could we stop at the house and pick up something, then go to that cave?" Derpy got a little fidgety, then said "Why not?" We landed and I ran inside and grabbed my PAC.

Remembering the path, I led the way to the cave in about 10 minutes. We landed by the mouth and walked in. I set down my PAC and pulled out the HoloCube. Then, with a leap of faith, dropped it in the pool. As before, two popped out. I chucked another one in and caught the two for a total of there. I then sat down and wiped two of them, leaving nothing. I then moved all the Earthy information to one cube and put it back in my PAC. I turned to Derpy "Ready. Let's get back."

We dropped by the doorstep and opened the door quietly. "Remember that Dinky's asleep." She whispered. I nodded in return, and Derpy walked into the kitchen. She began taking a variety of ingredients from a bunch of different places, then pulled out a massive muffin tray. Amazed, I said "Wow, how many muffins do you have to make again?" Without looking u p, she said "Only 250, so that's 2 1/2 batches I'll need to make."

Awed by the sight, all I could say was "Wow, that's a lot." Recovering, I continued "Say, do you have any wrapping paper and some tape?" Still absorbed, Derpy pointed to a closet. "Thanks." I said. I went over and got what I needed, then set the empty HoloCube on the floor. I put a simple message inside: 'To a better world'. I used what experience I had and wrapped it up, in the end using more tape than paper. I put it on the counter for the morning and headed off for some well deserved sleep.

_**Hellooo readers! I'm really sorry for the delay, but it was a long chapter… so yeah. Thanks for making it this far! I will REALLY try to post a chapter a week, but I'm still in school and i just finished a science project. See something you don't like or want something to happen? Click follow and send a review! Again, thanks SOOOO much! Ta ta for now!**_


	6. To My Readers

Just a quick update

by the time you read this, i will have deleted the author's note and replaced it with this one. For all of my loyal readers, I deeply apologize for getting your hopes up by posting this. I just wanted to say that my schoolwork is getting severe, so try to expect a chapter once every two weeks. The bright side is that there will be longer chapters. Again, I'm very sorry to all of you. Thanks for remaining loyal to the story and updates are coming soon!

- To Define Life

PS: Although my stories can be dull at times, just know that I am a better critic than a writer, so feel free to PM me and ask me to read your stories and check for errors.

For real this time, To Define Life out.


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